Phonelationships: Nick Nestor

Phonelationships(n.) (derived from phone + relationships) – 1. an individual’s personal connections to a mobile device, 2. the Western Front’s new blog feature, a fun way to find out what our peers are up to on their phones, 3. click here for part 1.

Nick Nestor

Name: Nick Nestor, 22

Class standing: Senior

Major: Computer Science

Phone: iPhone 6, he’s had it since it came out last September.

Phone case: Nestor is what he refers to as a “phone nudist,” meaning, he has a phone case but chooses not to use it. The case is bulky, he said, and he likes the way his phone looks without it.

Total apps: Nestor has 53 apps on his phone. He said he uses about half of them on a regular basis.

Most frequently used app: Tweetbot. It’s a great tool for Twitter-lovers with multiple devices, available for iOS for $4.99. “I use my iPad a lot too,” he said. Tweetbot makes it so Nestor doesn’t have to re-read tweets he’s already seen on his phone.

“Tweetbot synchronizes your reading position, so I can check it back on my iPad and I’m exactly where I was,” he said.

Phonelationship style: Nestor values harmony and organization in his phonelationship. His devices, including his phone, all have names to make synchronization easier. His phone is named Apollo, his iPad Triton and his desktop Atlas. Perseus and Orion are his gaming consoles.

“In computer science, with servers, you typically name them superhero names or something, so mine are all in some way mythological or celestial,” said Nestor. “Every single one has a unique name, let me tell you.”

Despite his habit of naming technology, Nestor said he’s relatively unattached to his phone. “I could absolutely not use my phone,” he said, because he has other gadgets that do the same thing his phone does.

His idea of a perfect app: Nestor’s ideal app would be inspired by the Beats Music app. Beats Music allows you to indicate your mood, location or activity (partying, studying, etc.) and then curates a playlist to suit your specifications.

“I want that, not for music, but for activities,” Nestor said. He said it would be cool to have an app where you could input your current conditions and it produces a specialized itinerary. Nestor’s ideal app is like a planning wizard.

“It generates a fun day for you,” he said. “Like, you’re going to go kayaking and then go to dinner at this restaurant’,” he said.

“Fate recommended that I “build a fort” on my date – I tapped “Accept” to get more ideas like this one.”

Recommendations: Based on Nestor’s interest in idea generation and digital curation, I would recommend he download an app called Fate, available for iOS and Andriod for $0.99. Fate asks users to set up a profile specifying age, gender, relationship status, geographic location and personality type (partyer, introvert, hipster, etc.). After the profile is complete, users can specify what kind of activity they’re looking for, like “alone”, “date”, “group” or “family” and then configure settings such as price, time of day and mood to generate a distinct idea for what to do. Users can easily refresh and tweak ideas, and accept them to build a custom profile of activities.To test out the app, I completed Fate’s profile – I’m a 21-year-old city dweller with a “nerdy” personality – and ran a query for a date activity on a modest budget for the whole afternoon. The app recommended that I go on a pub crawl or build a fort with my date. I can attest to the accuracy and hilarity of this app’s technology. It’s also ad-free and you can connect it to Facebook to fine-tune your profile.

To test out the app, I completed Fate’s profile – I’m a 21-year-old city dweller with a “nerdy” personality – and ran a query for a date activity on a modest budget for the whole afternoon. The app recommended that I go on a pub crawl or build a fort with my date. I can attest to the accuracy and hilarity of this app’s technology. It’s also ad-free and you can connect it to Facebook to fine-tune your profile.

Sports

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